


Free Style Only: A Whole New Meaning

by Yaoi_is_Still_Ruining_My_Life (Bloody_Jeans)



Series: Attack on Tumblr (Anime Prompt Fills) [6]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Double Entendre, I Blame Tumblr, M/M, Male Slash, Pre-Slash, Public Nudity, Swimming Pools, Tumblr Prompt, see what i did there?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7688089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloody_Jeans/pseuds/Yaoi_is_Still_Ruining_My_Life
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tachibana Makoto is <i>buck-naked</i>—in <i>public</i>—<i>swimming</i> of all things.  It's<i> just</i> the recipe for some HOTNESS.  That is until a certain Nanase Haruka covers that beauty up.</p><p>(<i>Damn you, Haru!</i> just about every fangirl in the world says for the first time ever.)</p><p>Or: In which it was entirely the water's fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free Style Only: A Whole New Meaning

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy! Also, this is the edited and reposted version, though there may still be some OOC-ness going on.

Makoto couldn't breathe, horrified as he was. The brown-haired teen's entire body was ducked underneath the dark water in the deep end of the public pool, only his frantic eyes peeking out and darting around.

_No, no, no—where's Nagisa when you actually need him?_

This was a situation straight from a nightmare, and he still wasn't entirely sure how it happened in the first place. He'd heard of this happening before but always thought it was a joke when his parents warned him as a child, _Careful not to lose your trunks in the water!_

One second, Makoto was on the diving board, flexing his upper arms and tensing his thighs as he leaned forward. The next, he was soaring through the air, path narrowed towards the waiting water. Then, he was breaking into the lovely cold, floating through the welcoming sensation, and finally jumping out on top to breathe the clean air, like an orca—

_—and then realizing the only suit left on him was his birthday one._

"Nagisa!" he hissed loudly, spinning around in the water to spot his friends. The pool area was crowded, throbbing with people, especially since it was the middle of a summer hot enough to cook eggs on sidewalks (which his younger siblings had actually tried). Luckily for him, the deep end of the pool was empty save for an _occupied_ couple on the other side.

However, that seemed to be about to change. From the corner of his eye, the teen followed another person climbing up the ladder and onto the diving board, getting himself ready for the jump, while about five more people waited in line.

What was worse, the Tachibana couldn't see hide nor hair of his friends who'd dragged him there and apparently left him to die of shame. Makoto wasn't all that big on swimming, but the heat had been killing him at home, especially since the A.C. was broken. So he'd agreed to Nagisa's offer, tagging along with the blonde's boyfriend.

He was severely regretting his choice right about now.

Makoto would have been far better off at home as tonight's cooked dish than where he was then. Somewhere in the middle of all the chaos of showering, changing, and pushing through strangers, the Tachibana had lost Nagisa and Rei in the crowd.

Now, Makoto was completely alone, stranded in the middle of a busy public pool, and without anything on but a smile—or rather, in his case, a tense frown. As the brown-haired teen continued to pump his arms to hold himself afloat in the water, he glanced around one more time, trying for a glimpse of blonde or blue hair but having it escape him. Instead, Makoto began to search for the culprit of his unfortunate situation: his weak shorts.

When he finally spotted them, the Tachibana lost all hope of quickly lunging out to snatch them before anyone saw him (all of him, to be accurate). Not unless his arms were ten feet long and his torso five feet. Only then would he be able to reach the dark green shorts resting comfortably against the wall.

"Fuck." The normally clean teenager couldn't resist letting loose an angry curse.

 _This means I'll have to ask someone for help, but who?!_ Makoto clenched his teeth as he reluctantly observed the families passing him by on the dry concrete. He couldn't just ask some random old guy to grab his only pair of available clothes and asking some kid would earn him bad looks which he _really_ didn't need at this exact moment.

Desperate, the Tachibana swam over to a guy he spotted lingering next to the water, clothed in tight swim trunks and staring contemplatively into the chlorine-filled water. "Erm, hello!" the teen greeted, forcing a friendly smiling and slight wave. The other, darker-haired teen just stared down at him without responding, so Makoto forged on, feeling his cheeks flame. "I—um—was wondering if you could help me out with something?"

At the stranger's slight nod, Makoto let out a relieved sigh and relaxed, lowering his body even more in the water as he exclaimed, "Great! That's great! Thank you so much, uh—"

"Nanase Haru," the teen interjected.

"Tachibana Makoto," the brown-haired teen replied kindly, eyes twisting up in happiness. Taking a deep breath, the Tachibana blurted out, "Would you mind fetching me my shorts, Nanase-kun?"

Haru froze, mouth slightly unhinged, eyes wide, and eyebrows reaching for his hairline as his shoulders tensed. "You're not—?"

Coughing, Makoto glanced away with a blush. "Ah, no. They're by the wall over there." He pointed and felt relieved as Haru looked away from him to focus on the accused article of clothing.

"I know that brand. It's pretty loosely fit for swimming," the black-haired boy idly commented.

For a second, the Tachibana thought he was going to be refused or ignored. However, despite his worries, Haru jogged over to the corner where his shorts had somehow landed, snatched them delicately between two fingers, and searched for any onlookers before rushing back to Makoto's side of the pool. Just as the dark-haired teen reached the edge to drop the shorts to the brown-haired teen, a gasp escaped him as his shoeless foot slipped on a puddle of water.

Makoto watched in surprise as the other teen pitched forward and unthinkingly reached out his strong arms to catch him. Haru landed on him with a painful grunt, hand now completely wrapped within the shorts and both arms looped around the taller brown-haired teen's neck. Luckily for him, the Tachibana had strong arms and didn't let him slip further into the water beside his calves dipping in. For a second, Makoto wondered why he'd caught the other teen, but his trail of thought flew away once he realized what sort of... position they were caught up in.

Haru's gaze met his. The brown-haired teen was speechless then, staring into those wondrous blue eyes. Makoto had only seen that shade of color once before and that was in the ocean near his hometown. He found he loved seeing it again, something that hadn't been felt in him ever since that storm years ago.

"I—um—t-thank you for catching me," Haru stuttered, gulping. The Tachibana watched his Adam's apple bob slightly and didn't reply besides a slight nod. "Erm... can you let go of me?" the darker-haired teen murmured.

Makoto blinked and immediately released the other teen who thankfully stayed afloat. Matching blushes took over both their faces. "So sorry about that, Haru-kun!" the brown-haired teen gasped.

Haru shook his head, not seeming to care about the sudden name change. "It's alright. I have your shorts if you want them?"

The Tachibana tried not to think of what happened as he nodded, accepted them from the other teen, and ducked underwater to pull them on, but he ultimately failed at the first task. Not only had he and Haru lost all sense of space between them for longer than was necessary, Haru had been half-naked and Makoto completely so.

Seeing the other boy's extensive muscles all wet and dripping... well, let's just say Makoto was suddenly thankful for the looseness of his swimming shorts.

But, for whatever strange reason, neither teen seemed to regret it all too much, as Haru's contemplative thoughts reflected the brown-haired boy's.

When Makoto broke from underneath the water again with a gasp, both teens opened their mouths to speak when another, loud, obnoxious, familiar voice interrupted them.

"Mako-chan!"

The Tachibana blinked in surprise and turned to see his favorite blonde (perhaps least, now) and his blue-haired boyfriend approaching, one skipping happily, the other being reluctantly dragged along. Nagisa waved, and Rei shot Makoto frantic looks as they approached, but the brown-haired teen felt absolutely no sympathy for either of them as they hadn't been there when he... unintentionally went freestyle and needed their help.

He disregarded his friends for the moment, however, and met Haru's eyes again. Makoto quietly said, "Thank you for helping me out."

Haru murmured, "No problem."

The Tachibana hesitated, but just as Rei and Nagisa finally reached the two drifting in the deep end of the public pool, he added, "Um. Haru-kun? Would you like to hang out with me and my friends some more?"

The blue-eyed boy's mouth flapped before forming up into an amicable expression which was practically like a shout of joy from him. "Yes."

A pleased smile overcame Makoto's face, not that he resisted it that much. Facing his other two friends, he called out, "Nagisa-kun, Rei-kun, meet my new friend! This is Haru-kun."

"Hello, Haru-chan! It's nice to meet you!" Nagisa cheerfully shouted, jumping up and down.

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei hissed, shoving his oblivious boyfriend.

Makoto pretended to consider this. "Hmm, Haru-chan, huh? I like that. Haru-chan?"

"Don't call me that," the other teen protested weakly, lips turning up in spite of his words.

**Author's Note:**

> Based off this Tumblr prompt: "Dude, I know we don't know each other, but my swim trunks came off when I jumped in the water, can you grab them for me? AU."
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope this was a pleasant experience, haha. xD If you did like this, be sure to leave some kudos or comments and other types of feedback, as all are appreciated. Also, go check out my other fics, if you want. :) See you next time!
> 
> \- xoxo Jo


End file.
